I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to transmission of signaling in a communication system.
II. Background
A multiple-access communication system can support communication for multiple terminals on the forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from the base stations to the terminals, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from the terminals to the base stations.
A multiple-access system typically allocates some system resources for transmission of signaling on the forward link to the terminals in the system. The signaling may be for various types of information needed for proper system operation, as described below. The signaling is often sent on a signaling channel, which may also be called an overhead channel, a control channel, or a broadcast channel.
The signaling channel is often sent as either a unicast channel or a broadcast channel. For a unicast signaling channel, each signaling message (or simply, “message”) is for a specific terminal and is encoded separately and then sent on the signaling channel to that terminal. Encoding each message individually results in poor coding efficiency and performance. For a broadcast signaling channel, messages for all terminals may be encoded together and then sent on the signaling channel to the terminals. Encoding all messages together improves coding efficiency and performance. However, the broadcast signaling channel is operated in a manner such that all terminals, including the worst-case terminal with the worst channel condition, can decode this signaling channel. This may be achieved by using a low code rate and/or high transmit power for the broadcast signaling channel. Operating the broadcast signaling channel to satisfy the worst-case terminal often results in inefficient use of the system resources allocated for the signaling channel.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to more efficiently transmit signaling in a multiple-access communication system.